Tag Archives: Der Herr der Ringe

Driving out of Wellington was kind of stressful, because after all these weeks in the wilderness we are not used to traffic anymore, not to speak about the fact, that the Kiwis are still driving on the wrong side. Where are all the cars/people coming from anyway? Not sure, but we quickly had enough and decided to drive down to Taupo via the Whanganui River Road and that was a fantastic decision. You end up alone in a beautiful valley and you fallow the river to a mill, to a maori settlement and to a village called Jerusalem. I also discovered the Tongagrio National Park in a different way this time. Thanks to Monti we were able to stay on a DOC campsite for two nights. The crystal clear sky was perfect to observe the stars, but it was bitterly cold to sleep on latitude of 1000 meters. We did half of the Tongariro crossing again and spent a day in Iwikau Village fallowing the footsteps of the Lord of the Ring crew. The crew stay at the Chateau Hotel Tongariro for a few weeks to shoot the scenes of Mordor in the mountains. It is a spectacular scenery and it was a pity the Mount Ruapehu was hidden in clouds all day long.

Taupo is the heart of the North Island in New Zealand so to speak and situated next to the biggest lake as well. I had four very sunny days here and was able to enjoy the Tongariro National Park (20 km trail). First, I did a hike to the Huka Falls and went swimming in the natural and therefore free Hot Springs next to the river.

While having dinner I had the pleasure to met Laura and she asked me, if I would like to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next day. And so it happened that I stood up on November 25, 2014, at 4:30 am to “break” into the hostel kitchen through a window first, because we desperately needed food for the daytrip, right?! We, that is Laura, Leon and Marcel, left Taupo about 5:15 am and arrived at the starting point in the national park around 7:00 am to wait for our driver Leon, who drove the car to the finishing point and took a shuttle to drive back to us. It was a gorgeous morning and we finally entered the trail at about 8:15 am. The trail starts with an easy walk through the Soda Springs fallowed by a hard ascent to the South Crater.

Mount Ngauruhoe / Der Schicksalsberg

Once there we decided to do the dangerous ascent up to Mount Ngauruhoe (2 ½ hours return), because we felt good and it seemed to be kind of a chance that you get once in your life – to klimb up an active volcano crater. It was a fascinating experience and I would like to tell everybody out there that you should do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, if the weather conditions allow you to do it while you are in Taupo. You don’t need more than a normal fitness, good hiking boots and a strong passion to do this trip.

On top of the World / Berspitze

You will leave the ash and the snow behind you likewise and you might think at one point on your way that you will not gonna make it, but you do and you will never forget. The colours that you gonna see, the view into the crater and though the national park to Mount Taranaki in the west are worse every step that you need to make while your muscles are burning. By the way Mount Ngauruhoe (2291 meters) is the mountain that you know from the final scene of the famous movie The Lord of the Rings. The last eruption happened in 2012, but I believe in science and as you can see on the picture we had a green light that day.

Snowfield / Schneefeld

On our way down we use a rain jacket as a sled for the first couple of meters, but don’t slide down the whole way. It is very dangerous and we saw a serious accident happening that day. Later on you pass the Red Crater (1886 meters) and the Emerald Lakes.

Red Crater / Roter Krater

It took us 11 hours all together, with all the breaks to makes pictures. I spent the day after that crossing on the Lake and in the Hot Springs again to relax my muscles. Not to forget the great introduction to the TimTamTradition (hot chocolate with cookies and a story) with some great folks in the hostel kitchen that night. Let me tell you life is awesome on days like these.